MESSIAH ERRS!
** Uses story from 2003 to slam military!
For the top Democrat running for Commander in Chief, he clearly does not have a clue on how the military works.
Here is what Obama said last night at the CNN Texas Democratic Debate about US troops in Afghanistan:
From the CNN transcript:
OBAMA: You know, I’ve heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon — supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon. Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq.
And as a consequence, they didn’t have enough ammunition, they didn’t have enough humvees. They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief.
That was a mouth full!
And, it showed that Obama is not at all familiar with how the military works.
Amy Procter found this out from her husband who is serving in the military:
Okay, Gateway, hubby e-mailed me pretty upset over the Obama transcript. He said this:
1. CPT’s command companies, not platoons.
2. Platoons are not divided up to go to 2 different theaters, EVER.
3. There is no ammo shortage in OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan). Many platoons are deployed to remote sites in the mountains and require aerial resupply. Those resupply missions are dependent on favorable weather conditions.
4. Taliban weapons are usually not very good and we would not use them without a very high level of command approval.
5. The CDR in Chief is so high above the platoon level that comment doesn’t even deserve a response.He’s just trying to exploit democratic boilerplate about Operation Iraqi Freedom being a diversion from “the good war” (OEF). He’s wrong on many levels.
We are winning in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I just left Baghdad.
We have everything we need except for our OWN government to be united behind victory in OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom).
Commenter Tantor added this:
OK, let’s look at all the different degrees of stupid this is.
First, Obama is claiming that our unarmed troops are grabbing the weapons out of armed Taliban? How exactly does that work? Are our guys throwing rocks at them, knocking the Taliban unconscious, and then stealing their weapons? Maybe we’re doing it with slingshots, huh?
Second, stealing AK-47s from Taliban will not solve an ammo supply problem, since AK-47s use different ammo. M-16s fire a 5.56x45mm NATO round while AK-47s fire a 7.62x39mm round. It’s worth pointing out that the Taliban are poorly supplied. They have no logistics division supporting them. They are supplied helter skelter, informally and ad hoc. So our guys would be trading a weapon they could get ammo for from our side for a weapon that they would rely on the Taliban to supply the ammo.
Third, the Taliban AK-47s are crap handmade one at a time in gun bazaars like Peshawar. They are knock-offs of the famously loose Soviet AK-47 made by Pakistanis in dirt floor shops not exactly known for rigorous quality standards. It would be nuts to exchange an M-16 for a home-made AK-47, an inferior weapon. The Pakistani ammo is likewise unreliable.
Fourth, there is no time in the last century when US troops have been sent into combat without rifles. The Chinese did, but never the US. Ever.
Fifth, it would be suicide to use an enemy rifle in combat. Some of our troops captured German Schmeiser rifles during the Normandy invasion and amused themselves that night by firing them at the Germans. Nearby US mortar crews, zeroing in on the sound of the enemy rifles, brought fire on them, killing and wounding many. Troops in combat, where the enemy is often obscured, would naturally fire at the sound of AK-47s. You would be crazy to carry one into combat. It’s like wearing an enemy uniform into combat.
Sixth, it would double the logistical problem to carry nonstandard weapons. The US Army learned that in the Civil War when it had to supply combat units using a dozen different kinds of ammo. Standardization of weapons ensures that they can all be properly fed with the same ammo.
Now, of course, Obama being ignorant of military history and the military in general doesn’t know any of this. Even worse, he lacks the street smarts to know BS when he steps on it. He picks up this BS story and thinks its shinola.
Obama obviously made a huge mistake.
And, in many ways this is similar to the comments his wife made twice this week about having pride in her country. It shows that Obama will choose to believe the insane Far Left drivel over truth.
This belief system may win the hearts of the Far Left but it won’t go over well with the rest of America.
Flopping Aces commenter Chris G. has more analysis that tears Obama’s nutty comment to shreds.
HotAir has a mistaken Messiah roundup.
The Weekly Standard Blog says Obama is dead wrong.
** Ace has footage of soldiers capturing ammo in Afghanistan!
UPDATE: The Pentagon made a statement today, via Reuters:
The Pentagon on Friday cast doubt on an account of military equipment shortages mentioned by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a debate with rival Hillary Clinton.
“I find that account pretty hard to imagine,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
“Despite the stress that we readily acknowledge on the force, one of the things that we do is make sure that all of our units and service members that are going into harm’s way are properly trained, equipped and with the leadership to be successful,” he said.
Whitman’s remarks were unusual as the Pentagon often declines to talk about comments from political campaigns.
Obama said the captain was the head of a rifle platoon, which should have had 39 members — but 15 were sent to Iraq so the unit deployed to Afghanistan had 24 soldiers.
Several Army officers said a platoon is normally commanded by a 2nd lieutenant — two ranks below a captain — but the size of a platoon would indeed be around 40 soldiers. UPDATE 2: In related news The Times Online asks today–
“Obama: is America ready for this dangerous leftwinger?”Kyle-Anne Shiver thinks Barack and Michelle are just keeping the faith.
UPDATE 2: ABC’s Political Punch says they have contacted the Obama Camapaign and talked with the anonymous captain in question. The Obama Campaign is sticking to the story. The captain’s words are posted.
Astute Bloggers say that Lefties Jake Tapper and Matt Yglesias say it’s true and that America sucks.
HotAir has a full report on the anonymous captain and Obama’s audacity of exaggeration.
Commenter Big Old Dog added this on the accusations:If the Captain, a West Point grad, truly feels like he and his men were put in harms way unnecessarily then he has a moral and ethical obligation to step out of the shadows and tell his story. Obviously he considers his career more important than his men’s lives or he is a lair/exaggerator.
Were any of his men inured or killed because of these issues? Did they prevent them from accomplishing their mission? what were the consequences of these “problems.” How many units were similarly affected? We can’t get answers from somebody hiding behind the cloak of anonymity…
More GREAT ANALYSIS at The Jawa Report.
The Corner has more on this illogical charge by Obama.UPDATE 3: Here’s another response from the army at FOX News:
Army spokesman John P. Boyce Jr. issued a statement saying: “Without a unit designation or time frame of deployment, it’s difficult for us to verify the validity of what was told to the senator. Our soldiers deploy as complete units — either as companies, battalions or brigades, and they do so with every soldier armed with his or her individual weapon. … Army units and individual replacements arrive in country fully capable to conduct combat operations.”
** Conclusion: It’s a Lie. The story holds no weight and that is why the captain remains anonymous. If there was any truth here the captain should come out of the shadows to correct the situation. Unless he is a heartless b*stard who does not care about the safety of his men, he would do this.
He won’t.Republicans if they were smart would demand an investigation:
** If it plays out that the accusations are true (unlikely) then maybe the military will do better at equipping the troops.
** If it plays out the nutty accusations are untrue (likely) Obama looks like the Far Left radical that he is.UPDATE: Senator Warner to Senator Obama— “Bring it!”
